The Dover SUN park is a 10MW utility-scale solar plant constructed in the state of Delaware, US, and is the largest of its type in the region. The project was developed by White Oak Solar Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of LS Power. The development was conceived in March 2008 to seek reliable, cost effective and environmentally sound power generating sources in the region. It was financed by the Union Bank N.A.

Construction on the project began in the first quarter of 2011 and was completed in six months. The plant was commissioned in August 2011.

The Dover SUN park contributes towards Delaware’s clean energy goal to produce 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2019. Power generated from the plant is sufficient to provide electricity to 1,500 homes. The plant will supply more than 25% of the state’s required solar production by 2015.

Plant details

The Dover SUN park is constructed in 103 acres of the 389 acres Garrison Oak technology park owned by Dover.

The project features SunPower Tracker systems that follow the sun’s movements during the day. These systems capture 25% more sunlight than the conventional fixed-tilt systems, so require less land.

The plant is installed with SunPower E19 solar panels that are available in configurations of 72 and 96 cells. These are 19.1%-19.5% more efficient than the conventional panels.

Each of these solar cells offers 3% surface area in surplus and hence increases the panel efficiency and decreases the unused space. The anti-reflective coating on the panels facilitates harnessing of more light helping to produce more energy compared to other solar panels.

The 96 cell solar panel measures 115ft to 125ft in length and 290ft to 370ft in breadth.

Technology

The SunPower Tracker technology can be installed quickly. It rotates on a single axis and generates more power per unit area than conventional solar systems.

"More than 91% of electricity production in Delaware is from fossil fuels."

It reduces shading and groups trackers in a way that requires 20% less land and 60% thinner film.

It can be scaled easily from small to large multi-megawatt installations.